Creative Work Database

Listing of creative work related to Singapore.

Our new Creative Work database is a repository for literary and dramatic works related to Singapore which are written by FASS Faculty and Students, past and present. The contents of this work-in-progress call on the theories and techniques taught and researched at FASS. Some of the creative work links to a sample of the original text. Research is also ongoing and the database will grow as we continue to update it. Items with the symbol “i” indicate that an abstract is available.

To search more effectively, please use the MLA or APA citation style which uses the author’s last name and initials.

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The poems in the Chinese section of this anthology are written by 35 poet that have made important contributions to the Chinese poetry scene. These writers continue to experiment with new techniques and language in their exploration of themes dealing with Singaporean culture, thought, customs, modernization and urbanization.

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This poem is a humourous, tongue-in-cheek attempt to anthropomorphise the famous statue of Stamford Raffles along the Singapore River. Employing wisecracks and comical comments, Neo makes the character of Raffles within the statue come alive.

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This poem narrates the clash between urbanisation and Asian cultural values (as related to nature) in the context of the Housing Development Board (HDB) estates in Singapore. The landscape of the towering HDB flats and the ever-busy city is contrasted with birds chirping and the religious chanting of Indian residents.

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The creation of this anthology was sparked by the desire to record Singaporeans’ experiences as they enter the new millenium. All of the works featured are written after 1965, the year ofSingapore’s independence. This anthology aims to celebrate the vibrancy ofSingaporeby featuring all the four official languages of the country in the book. The translation/transcreation of poems from one language to another other than English has allowed the editors to envision a society which line of communication transcends cultural traditions. The works in this anthology aims to celebrate the changes and development occuring inSingapore.

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This piece depicts the memories of the writer, who grew up on a daily dosage of cultural shows, Chinese soap-operas and festive entertainment programs on the once ubiquituous "Asia Television Limited" television programs from Hong Kong.

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With vivid imagery, the writer depicts an idyllic seaside scene in Pulau Kusu - a tiny island off the coast of Singapore. As he looks far ahead into the horizon, he is reminded of his hometown in mainland Singapore.

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The Malay poems featured in this anthology is written by either prominent or up and coming poets in the Singapore Malay literary world. The works selected exhibit the soul and identity of Singaporean Malays. They aim to document the social history of Singaporean Malays by illustrating how it has developed yet remained culturally rooted through showcasing the evolving landscape of Singapore Malay literature. In addition, this section which to demonstrate the wishes, dreams and disatisfactions of the Malays of Singapore. Shaharuddin Maaruf is the translator for this anthology.

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Ho discusses his personal history with art. Despite his affinity with drawing at a young age as well as the tutelage of two conscientious art teachers in high school that allowed his interest in art to flourish, he did not pursue art as a career. However, with some time on his hands lately, he has been able to pursue art as a hobby.

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Five years after moving out of the Tiong Bahru area - an area he has been familiar with since boyhood - Ho re-visits Tiong Bahru Food Market. This evokes feelings of homecoming and remorse, with the latter arising from his infrequent visits after moving out.

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When charity becomes competition, the spirit of giving is reduced to a contest to accumulate more funds for the sake of breaking previous records - the writer recounts an incident when a charity hotline performance went awry when mutual competition for more funds became its only purpose.

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On the topic of homogenity in a multi-racial society in Singapore, the writer disagrees with the notion that one should abandon differences that are inherent in culture and heritage. Instead, the way forth would entail learning from one another's cultures and respecting the differences between cultures in order to gain a greater understanding among races in Singapore.

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Ho describes English in Singapore as not only a means of communication but also the language of politics and power. Coupled with a mindset of “kiasu-ism" among parents, there is inevitably a stronger tendency to foster English-speaking environments within homes. Together, these factors may account for the generally poor conversational fluency of Singaporean Chinese in speaking their mother tongue.

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Ho recounts his teenage years when his father's good friend would bring him on trips around Singapore. Similarly, when he was in the United States, friends would chauffeur him around. Having been a passenger for all these years, however, he had to learn how to drive for the sake of his wife and child after getting married.

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The foreign migrant workers in Singapore are commonly stereotyped as being of a lower class background, uncouth, unhygienic, and uneducated. Ho feels, however, that Singaporeans should extend compassion and understanding towards these migrant workers who have had to leave their loved ones behind in their native country to do jobs that are mostly unappreciated.

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Tan Kah Kee was not only a businessman and an entreprenuer but also someone who did not fail to give a helping hand to the needy, especially those who were his fellow countrymen. In this essay, the writer celebrates the spirit of unconditional giving that predecessors in Singapore such as Tan Kah Kee possessed during times of hardship and war.

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The Victoria Theatre recently celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its establishment. Audiences were treated to an assortment of musical classics to commemorate the event. The writer is thoroughly impressed with the performance, and is also pleased with how the musical and arts scene in Singapore has developed thus far.

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Ho observes that education in the past was a privilege as not everyone had the opportunity or means to pursue one. Given Singapore's rising affluence and the social change in the nation, education has become a right of every citizen, and the students of today often seem to take this right to education for granted.

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Ho argues that negative parental influence is a main factor in contributing to the trend of students lacking enthusiasm in learning Mandarin (their Mother Tongue). In tending to boast about their unsatisfactory experience in mastering Mandarin when they were younger — comparing whose results were the worse — parents create the misleading impression of difficulty in mastering Mandarin.

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A chance encounter with a student from The Chinese High School reminds Ho of the days when his days in the same school during the 1960s. While the school was notorious for student activism at that time, Ho comments that he had his most memorable student times there, including when participating in several extra-curricular activities and also in the close relationships he had with his teachers.